


A life together

by jeffgangfan



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Be my Baby in Bali, Couch Surfing, Exhaustion, Fluff, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Music, PTSD, Running Away, Singapore, Singing, Vietnam, bad cold, bad habit, doing push-ups, fight, fluid manipulation, hot summer, taking care
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-04-04 07:58:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 11,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4130416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeffgangfan/pseuds/jeffgangfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a collection of ficlets that reveal the life together of our lovely couple, Percy and Nico. You will see that they have their own perks being together, but they are also not different from any other couple in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Exercise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thecoquimonster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecoquimonster/gifts), [because she's the beginner of it.](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=because+she%27s+the+beginner+of+it.).



“I honestly don’t understand, Percy.” Nico wiped away the sweat on his forehead “What is the point of this?”

“I just want to exercise a little.” Percy smiled down at him despite obviously knowing that Nico was enraged. Nico looked at him, pouting disbelievingly.

It was one of those so hot summer mornings that our demigod boyfriends could barely function. They were spread out lazily on the cleanly moped floor of their bedroom when Percy felt like attracting Nico’s attention. After all, Nico had been reading that book for almost two hours. He should have a break.

“I have a break whenever I want to, Percy.” Nico crossed his arms beneath Percy before the son of Poseidon lowered his body. “Not when you feel like doing push-ups with me underneath you.”

“You haven’t tried to escape, Nico.” Percy kissed his boyfriend’s nose before straightening his arms to lift himself up. Nico had lost counts of Percy’s push-ups already. “Dissent without resistance is consent.”

“That’s really clever but just you wait until I catch you off your guard.” Nico stuck out his tongue.

However, Nico couldn’t get away from his boyfriend because whenever he tried to, Percy would just fall on top of him and kiss on his neck multiple times. He tried to tickle the son of Poseidon but Percy would simply repeat his strategy of falling on top of Nico. After a 15-minute resistance Nico resorted to glaring at Percy from beneath while Percy continued with his exercise-.

“Is this really uncomfortable for you?” Percy asked, and Nico saw a hint of guilt in Percy’s green eyes.

“Yes, why don’t you come down here and kiss me properly instead of Eskimo kisses and teasing?” Nico asked back, his hand trailing up from Percy’s torso. He didn’t miss the way his boyfriend’s legs slightly threatened to give in. It was only fair that way, because Percy had been teasing him by pecking his nose and forehead and lips while doing push-ups for a while now. Whenever Nico tried to kiss back, Percy would lift his body up while still caging Nico in. As if, returning those kisses is a treat for him.

It is a privilege, **Nico’s privilege**.

He pulled Percy down by his collar and kissed him senseless. Percy’s arms gave in and his weight was placed on Nico while the other’s hands moved to cup his face. Nico rolled both of them to his left side and swiftly straddled the green-eyed demigod after he had taken away Percy’s breath.

“Caught off your guard, huh?” Nico teased, his fingers drumming on Percy’s chest.

Percy didn’t answer, instead he stared at Nico, breathless from their previous kiss. His face flushed red either from his exercise or embarrassment but there was a genuine smile blossoming on his face. He stroked Nico’s arm affectionately while Nico trailed his hand down Percy’s body.

“I hope you’re not looking forward to any other exercise because I can’t take that much hotness.” Nico continued. “I say _**REVENGE**_.”

Percy opened his eyes widely, trying to comprehend the situation but it was too late. Nico quickly held his hands above of his head and started tickling him. Percy couldn’t do anything about it, he was tired from doing who- knew–how-many push-ups so Nico easily immobilized him with his weight and his hands were just everywhere.

Percy was laughing uncontrollably and so was Nico, who enjoyed the power he had over Percy now. It was good this way, he needed to give Percy some attention and unwind the sea demigod, too. Percy was always the one who teased and displayed his affection, Nico had to return the favor.

When Percy looked at him from beneath, breathless again, Nico couldn’t help but plant a kiss on his boyfriend’s lips.

“I love you so much, Percy.”

“I love you, too.”


	2. The Illness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico came home to find Percy lying on the bathroom floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, Rick Riordan does.

The doctor said it were exhaustion and a bad cold that led to Percy lying unconscious on the bathroom floor when Nico found him. He also gave them the phone number and address of his sister’s clinic which was just a few blocks away from their apartment in case things went wrong. Hazel thanked him and squeezed Nico’s hand as they shadow-travelled back. She probably had heard what Nico was mumbling to himself.

“Hey, it’s not your fault, okay?” she told her brother after they had got Percy in the bedroom and were sitting in the kitchen.

“I know but I was scared for life, Haze. I should have noticed because he has just got back from a quest.” He didn’t know what could have enervated Percy so bad that he fainted.

“You can start taking care of him now. You’re good at that. Remember when I got the Mumps?”

“You couldn’t eat without feeling pain under your ears, what a horrible time!” Nico touched both sides of his sister’s face.

“You cooked delicious soup and noodles.” Hazel’s eyes sparkled.

“Frank helped a lot.”

“You’re good at taking care of people. Take care of yourself, too, Nico.”

 

 

Nico wanted Percy to get as comfortable as he could but Percy’s health needed to be prioritized so no studying on Percy’s laptop or playing video games allowed. Nico insisted on resting completely.

“Then there’s nothing to do except for sleeping. You know I can’t sleep all day, Nico.” Percy adjusted his mask, eyes tired and pleading. Nico knew that sleep was difficult for demigods if they were not exhausted from quest but Percy meant more than just that. Nico wouldn’t want Percy’s health to be drained any more from nightmares.

The solution was to find as many CDs as possible, cartoons and movies, and have them played on Percy’s laptop. When Percy watched movies after movies, Nico would go out to buy more tissue for Percy’s running nose, masks and medicines. He even bought two new cookbooks, no wonder Frank told him that he usually went all out when he took care of people.

“Your food is delicious.” Percy grinned as Nico placed the bowl in front of him. “But I’m fine with some hot chicken soup.”

“You can’t eat canned chicken soup all the time, can you?” Nico pulled up his mask and squished Percy’s cheeks as the son of Poseidon pouted.

 

 

 

****Percy also became much more affectionate when he was ill and Nico didn’t know how he could increase that level of clinginess. He wanted to tug Nico down in bed with him, cuddle with the son of Hades when he watched the CDs and maybe kiss his cheeks and hair. However, Nico would just wiggle out of his hold as he told Percy that if he caught that cold, there would be no delicious food. Percy would reluctantly let him go and stuck one of those fever cooling patches on his forehead because he really liked them better than a damp washcloth.

Nico realized that his efforts paid off when he found Percy dozing off on the couch somewhat a week later in fresh clothes, tanned arms hugging a cushion from the couch and his leg dangling from the edge. His forehead was no longer feverish and if there was one word to describe the son of Poseidon, it should be _**fresh**_. Even when he was sleeping.

Nico crouched down next to him and brushed their lips together, not expecting the son of Poseidon to pull him onto the couch for more kisses. But he did anyway.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love to read your comments! *cough thirsty cough*


	3. The Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank clearly had the same problem with Hazel because he asked Percy if Nico liked modern music.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, Rick Riordan does.

Sometimes Percy and Nico would study together. Sometimes they would return from their friends’ house on the metro, sitting side by side. Sometimes they would be cooking together.

They would do that with two different pairs of headphones.

Percy didn’t notice that until Frank pointed that out, asking them if they liked each other’s music.

After that Percy had tried to listen to Nico’s music plenty of times but he couldn’t get himself to like it. Nico listened to Italian songs and game soundtracks. Percy did not like what he didn’t understand (Italian) and the same frustration he got from listening to K-pop was back. The son of Poseidon wouldn’t even like the rhythm of the Italian songs and he couldn’t sing the soundtracks with good beats aloud.

Nico had nothing to say about Percy’s attempt.

Percy concluded that he couldn’t like music without understanding its meaning. However, Nico could like his music because the son of Hades could understand the lyrics, right?

Nico refused to listen to any of his music. He would frown at Percy and shake his head, slim hands putting on his earphones so quickly, he blocked the sounds coming from Percy’s phone. Nico also pointed out that he hated Uma Thurman with a passion and Percy argued that it was understandable because everyone would hate a song that was used as an alarm sound.

 

“I don’t like the lyrics!” Nico yelled, Percy was surprised that he managed to rile Nico up this bad that it ended up an argument. “I don’t like your music and you can’t force me to do anything about it!”

“You never even try! Tell me a song that is not Italian or none-lyric. You’ll change your mind if you give it a try!” Percy really hated arguing over something trivial like this but he felt like he had to make his point clear. You couldn’t tell if you liked something or not if you didn’t try it.

“Perseus, I expect you to respect my choices and decisions. I am a person of my own, you can’t change that.” Nico said coldly, his voice showing how annoyed he was. Percy sat down with a huff as Nico exited, slamming the door on purpose.

 

That night when Nico lied in bed next to him, finally asleep after “Percy, would you please stop turning and stay still?” and “UGH!”, Percy recalled their fight over music. He thought about it much more than he wanted to admit, but Percy hated letting people down and the look of disappointment on Nico’s face urged him to rethink his words.

Percy reversed their roles but that wouldn’t work because he tried to listen to Italian music many times before so he placed them into a different situation. His imagination proved to be helpful as he imagined being persuaded into…hmm…drinking for example.

_“You never even try! You’ll change your mind if you drink this can!”_ Percy frowned as he imagined Nico trying to press a can into his hand. Nico didn’t seem to be the kind of people that would pressure anyone into drinking but the thought made Percy uncomfortable enough.

Percy didn’t like alcohol. Years of living with Ugly Gabe did that to him, he hated what alcohol could make people do. He never tried and didn’t have a favorite alcohol beverage. He once wrote a letter to convey his messy thoughts into something more coherent but he didn’t want to even think about alcohol now. Percy was starting to understand how Nico would feel about his words earlier.

 

 

“I did listen to your music.” Nico whispered in his ear as they hugged again. Percy’s apology was said right when he woke up next to Nico that morning and there had been a lot of hugging and kissing since then.

“When?”

“When you sing in the shower.” Nico kissed his ear but that didn’t distract Percy.

Percy face-palmed, his face red with embarrassment “No wonder you hate it, I have a terrible voice!”

“No, I like your voice. I just don’t understand what is the deal with being a cherry blossom or setting fire to the sky in July.”

“Oh.”

 

**Two days later…**

“Nico, I really want to sing you a song.”

“Percy, I appreciate it but you know you can’t sing an Italian song.”

“No, this is…hmm…my music.” Percy told him. “I promise you are going to understand it.”

 

Percy’s voice was not high for some part of the song but he closed his eyes when he sang. And when he opened them, he saw Nico tearing up.

They held each other tightly that night, the song gently replayed in Nico’s head.

 

You are The Moon by the Hush Sound was one of the very few modern songs that Nico remembered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave some comments! I love reading fr- from -...*die of thirst*


	4. The Bad Habit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy noticed that Nico had a bad habit and he tried to help Nico break it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic. Rick Riordan does.

“Nico!’ Percy pouted. Nico instinctively retracted his hand, dropping the book he was holding with his other hand. He looked at Percy apologetically as the taller folded his arms.

“Doesn’t it hurt when you pick your lips?” Percy asked as he leaned down to press his lips on Nico’s slightly to avoid adding more pain to the chapped lips. Nico pulled his boyfriend down on their bed for some more Eskimo kisses and then they spent the half of the afternoon reading books to the sound of the pouring rain outside.

 

 

It should have ended like that if Nico didn’t keep the bad habit. However, he did and Percy was determined to help Nico break this habit of picking his lips.

Nico had told him not to worry whenever they kissed but how could Percy not worry when Nico’s lips tasted like blood? The son of Poseidon went great lengths as he bought his boyfriend a second toothbrush and rosehip oil as advised on the Internet. Nico also owned two personal chapsticks as monthly anniversary presents. He appreciated how Percy showed him the way to get rid of the dead skin on his lips and to apply the oil regularly but Nico couldn’t seem to get rid of the bad habit as quickly as he wanted to. He would forget to do so as he was super busy with schoolwork and Percy would catch him slowly picking the skin on his lips again while reading a book or searching on his laptop.

 

 

“Noooooo… don’t look at me.” Percy whined, tightening his arms around the pillow as Nico tugged at his shirt.

“Come on, Percy. You know I can’t just quit doing that.” Nico tried, his lips wet with blood brimming out and he licked them again.

“You can at least drink some water. It’s been two months, Nico. Haven’t I told you that doing so is harmful?” Percy hadn’t faced his boyfriend yet but Nico knew for sure that the son of Poseidon was pouting again and that didn’t help his desire to kiss Percy at all. The green-eyed had just insisted on not kissing Nico until he could get rid of the habit.

Nico didn’t know why but the craving for kisses was unbearable and Nico could only handle a day after Percy had declared his expedient. Percy was usually very affectionate and Nico guessed he had taken that for granted unconsciously somehow. He pressed a kiss on Percy’s back and turned around, promising himself that he would at least try not to pick his lips before anything else.

If you succeed in not practicing a habit for 21 days, you will be able to break that habit. That’s what they say, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pleaseeeeeee leave some comments. *thirstyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy*


	5. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico and Percy were prevented from going home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, except for the two robbers. Rick Riordan owns the rest of them nuggets.

Nico sucked in a breath so that his throat did not make contact with the sharp blade.

“We want your money.” The man in the grey hoodie said, glancing down on Percy. He had his knee on Percy’s back and Nico felt himself unable to keep calm because Percy’s face was turned away and Nico didn’t know if he was awake or not.

Nico cautiously reached his pocket and pull out his Ipod (Leo’s improved it, apparently.) and wallet. “Throw them on the ground.” The bastard behind him commanded.

“You’ve got anymore?” the one in front of him collected his items, his voice brusque.

“In my bag.” Nico croaked, still straining his eyes on Percy.

It seemed that the robber behind him nodded to his partner in crime and that man stroke at Percy’s head and gave him a hard kick. Nico yelled in fear of his boyfriend being hurt and tried to jerk his tightly gripped wrists so that he could break free from his captor. Percy stirred a little with a muffled grunt, his fingers twitched slightly.

Nico was afraid that he had interpreted the situation incorrectly and might endanger both him and Percy. He thought that the robbers were only going after money but Nico was now thinking about the sword in his bag and how he couldn’t sense any skeletons near. Summoning ghosts was not an option and Percy was probably unconscious and unable to defend himself. He could shadow travel away but leaving Percy behind with these criminals might be a stupid decision.

Nico had to admit that they were not prepared carefully to handle situations that involved mortals. There were guides that show you how to defeat ancient monsters or mythology creatures but none informed you of what to do when your car broke down on your way home and you were being robbed in the dark alley before having the chance to shadow travel that write-off away safely. He was careless.

Nico stomped on the foot of the robber behind him and elbowed him hard enough to fall on the ground after leaving a bad cut near the base of Nico’s neck. Nico ignored the growing pain and seized the knife to throw himself at the other guy.

“Leave or I’ll kill your friend!” Nico shouted at the robber that had been holding the knife at his neck as he got up from the ground. He was standing in front of Percy’s lying body to shield him from any possible attack.

“You wouldn’t dare.” The idiot barked and Nico pressed the knife tighter at the heaving throat, making sure that the fucker he was holding bleed.

“You think so?” Nico asked and let out his demonic aura just to increase the strain he was having on the other robber. Temperature dripped as swarms of roaches and rats poured out from dirty trashcans to march out of the alley, their chirping showed confusion. Nico watched the way both robbers’ breath changed as panic slowly consumed them.

“Just fucking go, Shane! Go!” the frightened robber yelled at his friend, the grey hood fell and revealed his dirty, unwashed blond hair.

“Leave and I’ll spare both of you.” Nico promised and told the non-captured robber to go first.

“We need money.” He croaked and Nico wanted to roll his eyes but he bared his teeth instead.

His friend would have beaten the shit out of him if it were not for Nico holding a knife against his throat.

“Fine, keep them. Now scat!” The robber turned and got himself the hell out of Nico’s sight.

The son of Hades hoped that he could get Percy home safely.

“Now I will let you go.” He said to the robber but then the bastard’s whole body tensed up.

“Stop it, I said stop it!” Nico commanded.

“It’s no-not me.” The voice of the robber wavered and its owner collapsed on the ground in front of him. Nico stepped back as the unfortunate robber writhed in pain. His body quivered and Nico wanted to help him get up but then the guy wailed loudly. He twisted and screamed in horror as he stared at his wrist, which was bending at an odd angel.

“What the-” he tried to move towards Percy but the writhing robber was in the way. Percy’s fingers were twitching, like whenever he took control of the water.

“Percy!” Nico lunged at his body and got Percy into a sitting position. Percy’s eyes were open but they were all black and blank. Percy was staring at him but it seemed like he was staring into a void as dark as Tartarus. His fingers were twitching much more violently now and there was blood from the robber’s eyes and nose.

“Make it stop!” the robber pleaded. Percy lifted his index finger and the robber grabbed his own arm. More blood poured out from his nostrils.

“Percy, look at me! Honey, look at me.” Nico tried, he had Percy’s stained face in his hands. “Let him go.”

Another scream from the other guy and Percy blinked.

“Percy, do you hear me?” Nico held Percy’s hands in his hands to distract Percy from manipulating the blood inside the poor guy.

Percy didn’t say anything, his lips quivering and nostrils flared.

Nico placed both palms against his cheeks and tried to look into Percy’s eyes while soothing him. It always worked when Percy had a nightmare.

Nico realized how long it had been since the last time he had to comfort Percy, who finally looked into his eyes with a glint of madness. He tried to back away from Percy but it was too late as Percy’s hands on his face twitched and Nico felt as if every single drop of blood in his body was now under Percy’s control.

“Percy, don’t do this!” Nico pleaded, never as terrified of his boyfriend as now. “Please!”

His boyfriend didn’t show a change in his facial expression but he lifted his left hand and Nico was up on his feet. Only now was Nico reminded of the presence of the injured robber who was lying panting on his back. Somehow in Nico’s hand was the knife that was at his neck not long ago.

“Percy!” Nico wailed, his eyes burned with tears. Nico was panicking because he saw no way out of this situation. He was never even aware of ever being controlled by Percy. “Percy, no!”

His feet dragged Nico towards the injured and bleeding figure, the knife gripped tightly in his hand but Nico couldn’t feel anything else except for the pain of betrayal.

“Nico?”

Nico heard the sound of his body hitting the ground and Percy’s muffled screaming.

 

 

“You almost killed a mortal and manipulated your boyfriend. Need I remind you?”

“I swear I didn’t remember anything, Hazel. I swear I didn’t intend to do that.”

Percy knew Hazel must have wanted to just beat him up. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her neck tight as the daughter of Pluto stood in front of him. Percy dug his finger into the sofa as Hazel continued yelling at him.

Frank looked at him from their kitchen counter, unsure what to do. Hazel was burning up quickly with her fury, her eyes full of tears that refused to be shed and blood vessels forming on her forehead and arms. Percy had been sitting here for so long that he lost track of time. Hazel and Frank showed up at his house in the morning after a week since Nico left. They didn’t know where the son of Hades was and even Hades knew nothing. Jason had been worried sick and Piper tried to list out possible locations that Nico might choose to shadow travel to so that they could find him easier.

This was his fault.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave some comments!!!! *Thirstyyyyy*


	6. The Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy thought he was all alone now. Well, he was, most of the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters and also hold no responsibility over broken doors.  
> Rick Riordan owns them.

“I hope you understand, Percy. Hazel was just… really upset” Frank hugged him again and Percy hadn’t looked up from his hands.

“She is devastated and I don’t know how to fix this, Frank.” Percy’s voice was muffled coming from his palms but Frank knew he was having a sore throat. The son of Poseidon must have been screaming a lot.

“I don’t think this is your fault.” Frank placed his hand on Percy’s shoulder, feeling as if it was pointier. As if Percy had been losing weight rapidly.

“Stop saying that!” he heard Percy growled but Frank was determined not to retract his hand. He would pull a “Jason Grace” (which means not flinching around everyone) if he wanted to.

“It is not your fault that you got robbed and couldn’t control your behavior. It is not your fault you fell into hell. It is not your fault that you can control fluid.” Frank said, his voice slow but adamant. He wanted to make sure that Percy would stop blaming himself, at least not when Frank was around.

Frank hoped Percy would not believe that he was to blame.

 

 

 “So now you are finally home from Percy’s?” Hazel asked and Frank felt as if she placed the dish on the shelves with more force than usual.

“Honey,”

“Don’t you fucking ‘honey’ me, Zhang!” Hazel turned away from the sink to face him and Frank was feeling frustrated, too. He just wanted to hug Hazel and kiss away her tears like last night but his honeybun was so angry that her eyes could tear him apart. Frank didn’t feel like he had done anything bad to deserve that look on Hazel’s round face. “Why the hell would you even go there after you have literally hushed me out, huh?”

“Percy is my frien-”

“I don’t give a fuck about him being your friend!” This was the second time Hazel yelled at him for visiting Percy and Frank had to admit that she was having a better and better command of swearing now. It was likely that she hit the roof if she found out that he cleaned the house and bought Percy some food.

Frank threw himself at her and enveloped her into his bear hug. Hazel kept thumping her little fists on his chest as if he were a door. It hurt, of course, because those hands wield a freaking huge gladius. Frank waited for her breathing to slow and her yelling to cease, patiently as always. Hazel slowed down eventually and cried into his chest again. Frank kissed her cheekbones and whispered into her left ear soothing words.

“I know Percy needs support.” She sniffled. “But Nico doesn’t even have anyone to support him now.”

 

 

 

“This place looks clean.” Annabeth commented as Percy opened the front door. He immediately slammed it in her face.

“Open the door, Seaweed Brain!” she banged on it and Percy just covered his ears. “You are making this much more difficult than it should be!”

“Go away!” Percy told himself to yell back.

“You are so,” he heard sounds outside as if Annabeth was taking off her high heels and dropped her handbag. “ –fucking hard-headed!”

Percy looked at her in shock as Annabeth Chase walked into his house, sawdust and splinters on her white blouse. Apparently, the genius decided to kick his door open. She succeeded.

 

 “This place looks cleaner than I expected.” She commented again as Percy lay on his couch, not bothered to look at her. He did notice her pixie haircut and how it suited her, though.

“Why are you even here, Annie?” Percy asked a little forcefully. He remembered how she didn’t even say a word to him when they broke up and never even contacted him. He remembered how his IMs were rejected.

“I heard what happened to you two. I want to help.” She continued and gestured at the clock. “Homecook or take-out?”

“You left a hole in the door and the lock is probably broken, genius.” Percy remarked.

“Then find another one when I cook.”

 

Annabeth snuggled closer against Percy and let him cried into the pillow between them. It had been so long since the last time they did this, lying in bed and comforting each other. She knew that Percy and Nico hadn’t broken up yet but comfort was much more important in times like this. If Nico ever walked in, he would understand.

“You never told me about this.” Percy told her as Annabeth finished telling him the reason why she ran to Rome and never called him. What she has experienced when Percy told her that they didn’t work out was a feeling of being lost since Annabeth had unconsciously relied on him too much. She had thought that there was no way they could be separated because they understood what each other had gone through so the break-up was a bolt out of the blue. It hurt even more when she found out that Percy wanted to be with Nico, someone who had also went through Tartarus.

“I don’t want to burden you two.” Annabeth stroke her friend’s back as he sobbed, body shaking.

“It wouldn’t change anything.” He said but Annabeth knew that if she had told him all of that, he would stay with her out of loyalty. She knew for sure.

“It would.”

Annabeth almost fell asleep but then Percy stirred and asked her.

“Annabeth, is it true that,” he trailed off but carried on when she nodded. “-messed up people like us should not be in relationships?”

_“How am I supposed to know?”_ Annabeth thought. _“I am not brave enough to start over with anyone else because I am afraid that they wouldn’t understand.”_

The blonde stared up at the ceiling, some tears formed and rolled down silently. Percy once told her that she usually cried without noise while he was the opposite.

“I really don’t know.” She said, her voice wavering even though she tried to stabilize it. Usually Percy would be able to tell and would pull her into a hug. Now his back was facing her, causing Annabeth to let out another small sob.

Percy thought about how he shouldn’t even be in a relationship with Nico, how he screwed up everything and Nico had gone off to somewhere nobody knew after he turned away from Annabeth . For the first time in his life, Percy Jackson cried silently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave some comments! You'll be informed of the door's health if you do! *so thirsty adjljsdljdl*


	7. The Cycle Diagram

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico chose Vietnam as his destination. He just didn't want to be found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, except for Viet. Rick Riordan created Nico di Angelo.

Nico didn’t remember since when he last felt this way, this emotion with which he did not wished to be found by anyone. People told him all the time about how hard it was for him to be alone when he ran away from Camp. To not belong anywhere. They thought they know what Nico must have felt about being alone.

They didn’t. Neither did Percy.

Nico had taken pleasure from being alone ever since he banished Minos and claimed his title as the Ghost King.

“It is better than being manipulated.” He thought bitterly as he sat in the local park, facing the sea.

Hazel knew how he usually isolated himself from others so she confronted him as they were still sitting side by side on the wet, cold deck of the Argo 2. She told him it was fine to feel that way but he should balance it with having human contact. Nico appreciated how she did not imposed the extrovert lifestyle on him and suggested other alternatives instead.

However, when Percy proposed to him after a long time of hanging around, Nico seemed to forget all about how he used to brood alone or wander to some other empty space. He surprised himself by how much he wanted to spend time with Percy whenever the green-eyed suggested going to a coffee shop or walking in the Central Park. Nico had forgotten about how he would sit with his chin on his knees, thinking about his simple past life with Bianca and Mythomagic when Percy attracted his attention to a cloud on the sky, green grass brushing his back at 9 am every Sunday morning. He would sometime ignore the clouds and thought about the chance of having a future life together with Percy.

It was as if he was painting a picture with contradicted colors, split in halves.

But the picture was looking more like a cycle diagram with different color schemes now and he couldn’t move on from the dark scheme, he would always have to return and start over from it one way or another. He felt exhausted.

“There you are!” his host said and offered him a stick of fried fishballs as he sat next to the gloomy teen. “Why the long face?”

“I am feeling unwell.” Nico said.              

“Is that so? Okay, I’ll keep quiet now.” The shorter boy sat besides him in silence and Nico felt a pang of guilt. First, he had chosen Vietnam, a new and unmentioned destination with the hope of not being found by his friends. Secondly, Nico chose to stay with Viet, who wrote on his dashboard of the couch surfing website that he would love to welcome foreigners to his house for a chance of practicing his English skills and making friends. Nico wasn’t exactly the type to communicate, much less than socialize and befriend his host.

“You are not eating your fishballs.” Viet remarked, he seemed to have finished three sticks already.

“Can you finish it for me?” Nico offered it back and Viet received it, giving him a thumb up.

They stared out at the sea, boats could be seen bobbing along with the waves. At a shorter distance, people were bathing in the dark green saltwater. Grey clouds plastered on the sky and trees possessed a harsher shade of green. Palm trees were erected firmly but they looked as if they were swinging in rhythm with the cool sea breezes. Children ran after each other and climbed on grey and lonely statues twice as high as their mother’s heights.

“Nico, where are you from?” Viet asked him after he had returned from the trash can. Nico took a moment to process the questions.

“New York. I think I wrote that in my dashboard, correct?”

“Yeah, but there is something about your accent. It sounded strange to me but my sister told me she liked it.”

“Oh, I am fluent in Italian, too. My mother was from Venice.”

“So, do you think in Italian?”

“Not very often.”

 

Nico didn’t end up telling Viet much about himself because Viet was very polite and didn’t pressure him into anything. He would sit on the scooter as Viet showed him around the city while introducing the landmarks and tourist attractions. Nico was a bit afraid of appearing rude because he was mostly irresponsive to Viet’s introductions. They would switch places occasionally and Nico noticed how Viet’s helmet more than once clanked with his. The boy seemed to never get tired of the familiar views and Nico wished he had been able to see the beauty in them. However, he failed to.

“Hey, Nico. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” They were facing the sea again but this time the sunset was looking back at them. No sight of people or boats, the sea spread out in front of them with its waves constantly crashing at the granite edge but couldn’t quite reach their dangling legs.

“Are you going through a tough time? I really wanted to help.” Viet pushed up his black glasses, a bag of souvenirs between his thighs. “I am just a stranger, maybe my advice can be objective.”

Nico sighed, he shouldn’t have expected Viet not to care about him. It was unusual to him, though, how a stranger would want to help him.

“I’m afraid you wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

“What if a person who you loved manipulated you into almost doing something really bad, would you stay with him?”

“Him?”

“Him.”

“So you’re gay?”

“Yes.” Nico grunted.

Viet took very long to answer, approximately fifteen minutes.

“I don’t know.”

At that moment, Nico finally understood. He was helpless because no one could exactly understand his situation. No one had ever even been in such situation. He would have to return to the starting point of the cycle diagram again with no one to stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The city Nico visited is Vung Tau. Coincidentally, it is where I live.  
> Please leave comments!! *Thirsty af to be honest*


	8. The Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy fell down from the ceiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, Rick Riordan does.
> 
> The reference of their trip in Bali can be found in: Be My Baby in Bali, one of my fics.

When Percy fell down from the ceiling, he knocked over a picture frame that sat on his nightstand.

“Technically, it’s Nico’s nightstand. He brought it.” Percy thought to himself, anger threatened to take over his mind. He continued to lie there, his head throbbing and ankle most likely sprained. No tears came out, to Percy irritation, since he had persist in trying to cry for days now but **he.just.felt.nothing.**

The son of Poseidon had been exerting himself to break his limits with his power. His power was what caused him to lose Nico, the only one who could help him suppress his desire to give up self-control. Who else could stop him now when he tried to manipulate his own body fluids? Percy had managed to lift himself up from the floor and being in air didn’t even bother him as much as it used to. Hanging upside down and rotating in air were his challenge for this week. He hoped that would make him happy because he used to have so much fun daring himself with fountains and whirlpools in Camp’s lake, small challenges that could make his day.

He hoped he could cry, could relieve himself with tears or even smile for once but he felt nothing. Empty. Was it because he didn’t know what to feel or because Nico had took everything away with him and left Percy with nothing but his fucked up mind, his empty skin?

A sharp pain in his left foot forced Percy to get up and check it out. Although the broken glass from the frame left an short, ugly gash on his foot, Percy only focused on the picture lying nearby. He snatched it away from the small forming pool of blood. Nostalgia bit at his heart and clawed his stomach.

Nico was sitting at the edge of a small pool, behind him a kitchen counter of the small villa they stayed in during their trip in Bali. His face was turned away from the camera but his smile could be seen and his posture relaxed. His legs dangled over the edge and Nico appeared to have been swinging them in the clean water.

It had been such a rare moment back then that Percy immediately fished out his phone and snapped a picture. He also remembered how Nico pulled him closer and tried his best to grin in the second picture. Nico kept it with him whenever he went on a trip to run errands for his father and told Percy that he looked at the picture a lot, which warmed Percy’s heart.

Now he felt regret.

Just before the silence became too deafening, a voice as clear as crystal chased away the giant silence. It sounded so real that Percy had to look around in search of an IM although he couldn’t quite put his finger on whose voice that was.

“Hey, we have been through so much this year and I’m so proud of us.” Percy strained to hear what it was saying.

“I’m so happy you opened up to me.”

“You’re so so worth it.” It seemed that the voice was saying things from different periods of time as Percy could not remember a circumstance in which all these sentences were said together.

“I feel like I can spend every single day of my life with you.”

“You feel safe with me? Are you sure you’re not scared?”

“No, I’m not. I would never be afraid of you.”

Percy immediately recognized the sentence because he remembered exactly that Nico had said that to him as they held hands in Percy’s bedroom. It dawned on him that the voice was not his or Nico’s alone but a combination of both. It was as if they were speaking in unison.

Anyone who saw him then would say that Percy had a cruel smile on his face but Percy could not feel anything other than humor and bitterness. He felt bitter since Nico had said that to him and left him when that shit happened. He barked out a laugh at himself because he believed Nico the second his boyfriend said so, stupidly.

He should have known no one could love a monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I know the chapters are becoming very angsty and self-dependent for our boys but I really don't want to rush the whole process. They both need time to heal and figure out the holes in their relationship so that it can last as long as possible! 
> 
> Please tell me what you think.


	9. The Advice.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico finally gathered the courage to call his friend Jason to explain what has happened. However, he had a bad timing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, it's been such a long time since I last posted. I was so busy with school and although I have written chapter eleven already, I just can't find the time to upload it. So here is your chapter, things are getting better, I promise!

Chapter 9: The Advice

Nico recalled how Percy made him cry the first time in their relationship while he was standing in in a cabin of Singapore’s Sky Flyer. Nico didn’t want to let his tears fall.

“Just shut up! Shut up! Why do you have to remind me of every single dark hour of my life!” Percy’s shouting sounded almost too real for him to hold back his tears.

Nico remained confused about what he had done wrong when he tried to wake Percy up from his nightmare. He had adjusted the light and held Percy’s hand as the son of Poseidon asked him to whenever he felt scared. However, he didn’t expect Percy to flinch away from him, his hand retracted so quick that the force made Nico cringe.

The son of Hades had burst into tears as he sat alone next to the kitchen counter the morning after. He didn’t understand what he had done wrong to make Percy shout at him like that and stormed into the bathroom. Later Percy apologized to him, his arms around Nico without fear or hesitance before Nico could manage to find a place to crash in for a few days.

However, now that Nico wasn’t overwhelmed with relief as he was back then, he realized that Percy hadn’t told him what caused the violent reactions and if he truly thought of Nico as a reminder of his dark times. Nico hoped that this would not be the end for them and they both simply needed some time away from each other to rethink their relationship.

He diverted his thoughts to his sisters and friends who he didn’t have the courage to contact. Nico had been rather frustrated that he couldn’t wait for the IM message to last long enough before swatting it away although he knew this fight was just between them. He dreaded having to retell what had happened.

 

 

 

“Shit.” Nico whispered. It was funny how the one time he had not ceased from calling, it was badtiming. He could see Jason lying asleep, his shirtless back viewable in the darkness of the room shown in the message. The only source of light was dim, coming from the nearby closed bathroom door.

Nico was contemplating whether to wait or call back next time when Piper stepped out of the bathroom or more like tripping over the doorstep. Only when she had managed to balance herself did she notice Nico’s image floating on air.

“Nico?” she confirmed, hand reaching Jason’s shoulder in an attempt to wake him up.

Nico pleaded her not to do so, feeling awkward around Piper as always so he forgot what he planned to say. The Cherokee nodded slightly and withdrawn her hand. Tightening the knot around her robe then stared at Nico wordlessly as if she had expected an explanation.

“I’m sorry.” Nico said because it was the only reasonable thing that he came up with.

“Look.” Piper held up her finger so Nico withheld from saying whatever came out of his mouth. “If you’re really sorry, you wouldn’t leave without telling anyone, even your sister. So stop saying sorry to me and call your sister.”

Piper didn’t lower her piercing stare although Nico was red with an implausible anger that made his cheeks hot and hands balled into fists.

“You don’t even know me!” he accused, pointing at Piper.

“I know enough! I’ve listened to what Hazel and Jason said about you. How endearing a person you are. I believed them. But,” She drew in a shaky breath, her eyes glistening with tears. “I don’t know if you love them as much as they love you.”

Nico felt his heart shattered into a thousand pieces. Unlike the numbness he felt when he left Percy, Nico could tell how much Piper’s sentence had physically hurt him. The emotions conveyed in it told Nico how Piper must have felt when she had to calm Jason and Hazel down whenever they talked about him. Pained.

“You’re right.” Nico sat down and realized how Piper’s dark skin contrasted with that of Jason. The blond must have been ill while searching for him. He looked at Piper’s crossed arms, thinking of how much she restrained from insulting him.

“I just couldn’t call them. It was my fault and I’m trying to fix it.” Nico looked down at his hands and he missed how Piper’s eyes softened and how she raked a hand through her hair and tiny braids.

“Look, I was a little too harsh on you earlier. But if you really want to show that you care about them, you need to tell them what’s wrong. Why didn’t you call them? You didn’t even answer our IMs.”

“I didn’t call because I was scared. I am scared of having to tell them and relive the horrible experience again. I don’t want to bother them. I just…need to be alone.” Nico explained, his words a jumbled mess. “I don’t understand why you guys couldn’t contact me, too.”

After that, Nico agreed to listen to Piper’s account of how she used to consider herself a spy in her first mission. She just couldn’t tell Jason or Leo. Alone among her group, she was frantic. However, Piper told him that “he had it harder than her”.

“Why?” Nico asked and Piper shushed him to prevent Jason from waking up. He covered his mouth.

“You keep saying that what you feel is invalid. You deny your difficulty while I didn’t. You’re…”

“Affected? Mentally-ill?”

“Yeah.” Piper admitted, sorrow edged in her voice

“We all are. And somehow I just-”

“It doesn’t matter, Nico. What matters is that you have people who love you and will help you. You should remember that.”

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave some comments and kudos! I will be so grateful to be able to talk to you guys!


	10. The Offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy was startled when a god showed up in the middle of his kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, Rick Riordan does.

 

Chapter 10: The Offer

“Of all gods, they sent you?” Percy barked out a rough laugh, his throat sore from screaming. Hades lifted an eyebrow at Percy’s disregard for the possibility of being evaporated right on the spot.

“Sit down, boy.” Hades calmly directed him with his own aura of authority as he settled down in one of the chairs next to their battered table. The god’s suit sleeve wiped off some of Percy’s shoe marks, which resulted from jumping off the wooden table too many times.

“You’re not going to kill me or have me tortured in your Field of Punishment? I sinned so just get on with it already!” Percy snapped, his dirty shirt sticky around the collar. He pushed the chair next to him in anger. It fell, the sound of it as loud as thunder.

“I have a mindful of ideas. However, I doubt that your mother would like that.” Hades simply answered and Percy felt a little ungrounded. The mention of his mother hit him hard. Hades must have remembered how desperate Percy had been to save his mother ever since the beginning of his demigod life. Percy sat. His hands angrily balled in to fists.

“What do you want?”

“I’m here to talk about my son.” Hades said, on the table his fingers were entangled. “I have come to notice that you two had a…little fight.”

“I almost killed him.” Percy looked up and Hades later gave Persephone a detailed description on how Percy’s face was devoid of life. He almost looked like a ghost, full of remorse and regret just to fade away to nothing.

“I’m aware and I want to offer you my guidance.”

“You wanted to help me?” Percy asked, surprised. After having asked for help from his father, Poseidon, who had failed to come up with anything helpful, Percy thought that none of the other gods would be interested in helping him.

“You’re not far from being a ghost.” Hades pointed out and Percy woke up from his flashback. “This is not the first time a hero loses control of his power. I’ve seen fatal accidents, tragedies, all of that.”

“Then why did you choose me?” The question sounded too familiar. _Why him?_

“I have never liked you personally” The cold, ancient eyes narrowed and Percy fought back a shiver that they bored into him. “However, you have made my son happy, which I can hardly do. You are…family.”

“I just want him to have all the happiness he deserves.”

“My offer stands. Iris Message me when you make up your mind.”

Percy stared as the lord of the Underworld vanished into thin air. Spread out in front of Percy was their house at an unacceptable state if Nico were here. The house was drenched in water, electricity cut and a foul smell permeating through the bathroom door. Glass shards scattered haphazardly on the floor with some other kitchenware. The sink was clean without any dishes in it, if not for the microwave.

Percy couldn’t remember the last time he changed his shirt. And since when did Frank stop coming?

The son of Poseidon knew he should be happy because a solution was finally introduced to him after such a long time. But Percy couldn’t stop feeling troubled.

 

_“Whatever you do, you two will never be the same as before.”_

 

Percy would do this for himself. He would tame his powers because he wanted to.

 

 _“_ _Nico would want you to.”_ The same voice that troubled him earlier cooed.

 

Percy ignored it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, next week and the week later I will not be able to upload the coming chapters. However, on Christmas's week I will be able to type and upload 4-5 chapters at the same time so I hope you are ready for the next ride. 
> 
> Thank you so much, I love reading from you guys!


	11. The Barrier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s gonna be okay.” Sally had to stop the boy before she crumbled into a shaking pile on the floor. The phone receiver seemed slippery between her fingers. She hadn’t told the Canadian that she too hadn’t been able to reached Percy through phone. Sally had thought that she should give Percy some space whenever bad things happened so that he could calm down and talk to her. She didn’t expect.
> 
> She wouldn’t be able to take it when Percy went missing again.
> 
> Or worse, he could have been killed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Rick Riordan does.
> 
> Sally. You should fear Sally.

“Okay. Okay, Frank. I understand now” Sally tried to lend some reassurance to her tone although her hands were shaking. “You haven’t been able to contact him for days and there was some kind of force that prevented you from entering his house. Okay, I got it.”

“I’m just afraid that something might have happened to him and-”

“It’s gonna be okay.” Sally had to stop the boy before she crumbled into a shaking pile on the floor. The phone receiver seemed slippery between her fingers. She hadn’t told the Canadian that she too hadn’t been able to reached Percy through phone. Sally had thought that she should give Percy some space whenever bad things happened so that he could calm down and talk to her. She didn’t expect.

She wouldn’t be able to take it when Percy went missing again.

Or worse, he could have been killed.

Sally had to sit down and even out her breath after that stressful conversation with Frank. No sooner had she finally, _finally_ calm down than someone knocked at the door blocking the fire escape.

“Poseidon.” Sally didn’t realize how much of a plea his name sounded coming from her mouth. The green eyes softened as the god nodded. They stepped back into her apartment and the Sea god settled on her battered sofa. Sally felt rigid. Stiff.

“I want to talk to you about Perseus.”

“I know.”

“He has been having a difficult time and I suspect that he will drive his powers over the edge.” Tanned fingers were tangled as Poseidon spoke. Sally placed her hand on the sofa, she wanted, no, needed to lean on something. Paul was going on a trip somewhere in New Zealand, a trip for a survey or something…

She had to support herself now.

“So what should I do?”

“Nothing.” Sally’s eyes widened, her breath stuck. Poseidon didn’t notice. “He is very dangerous and you should be nowhere near him for now. We have set up a barrier around his house to prevent him from hurting anyone who comes to him. He and his partner won't be able to be reached through phones and other ways of communication before they were both stable-”

“Why?”

“Why what?” asked Poseidon. He came to notice Sally’s body language was telling how distressed she was.

“Why are you treating him like this? He’s not a dog.” The god took a look at blood-shot eyes boring into him.

People said that Percy Jackson inherited his intimidating looks from Poseidon, which was partially true because Sally Jackson herself also contributed to this feature as well. But, unlike Sally and Percy, Poseidon didn’t have the nerve to take risks whenever his family was involved.

“The gods decided that this is for the-”

“I don’t give a fuck about the gods and what they think!” Sally spat as thunder roared behind her. She didn’t seem to be intimidated to the slightest. “What have they done to help him? When he fell into Tartarus? Where were they when he had to ask for my blessing so that he could risk his life fighting for them? **_Where were you?”_**

Poseidon gaped at her. Sally felt herself heating up quickly.

“So don’t fucking tell me what to do with my son.” She calmly said, surprising even herself. She was done talking, no place left for Poseidon’s arguments. There was indeed nothing left to say.

“All right.”

“Can’t you help him with his powers?”

“I…” Poseidon averted his eyes. “I can’t.”

Oh dear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what do you think about this! 
> 
> I am going to update chapters from now on!!!!


	12. The Underworld

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Rick Riordan does.

Percy had been afraid, depressed and angry whenever he had to enter Hades’s domain. He associated the Underworld with the majority of his negative emotions ever since his first quest. However, he felt nothing of it now and this should alarm him but it didn’t.

His mother held onto his cold hand and gave it a light squeeze. It was understandable for her to feel unease because she had been trapped here once, her fate being decided by Zeus’s stupid weapon. She relied on him, her son, to soothe her worries. Her trust grounded him. Percy squeezed her hand back, too.

“Is Paul going to be okay with this?”

“He will be, Percy.” She told him, her voice showing determination. “He knows I do this for you.”

“Mom,” Percy turned to her completely, blocking her path. “You don’t have to do this. Not again. You have done more than enough.”

“I’m not worth it.” He looked at her and Sally realized with dread that her son **_really meant what he had said_**.

“No, no. You can’t say that.” Sally pressed her index finger to her son’s mouth. Percy looked at her, his expression was nothing but **_pained_**. “You can’t say that when you decided to go to hell in order to save me. Percy! You are the first person to never expect anything from me and love me unconditionally. You’re the first to feel protective towards me and...”

“You’re my son.”

They didn’t reach the Palace as early as expect because Percy and Sally had been crying in each other’s arms.

 

 

 

 _“I assume you would not want to harm any mortals during your training so I suggests that you move to the Underworld for a period of time.”_ What Hades had said echoed in Percy’s mind as he walked back tothe Palace _. “I’m aware of the fact that you will be within the reach of Tartarus. However, the only way to control your destructive powers is to face your fear.”_

Percy had felt indifferent to the fact that he had to say fairwell to the Upper world for awhile, but then his mother came crashing into his house to declare that she would be going, too. He didn’t want his mother, so full of life and happiness, to stay in such a terrifying and dead place.

However, now that she insisted to be here with him, Percy would try not to let her down again. He sincerely hoped that he could improve the situation.

 _“One of the best things that have ever happened to me.”_ Sally kissed his forehead. _“If you don’t believe_ _me, you can always prove that yourself.”_

Hades allowed them to live in his palace and food would be delivered by Hermes everyday. Sally invested in five more blankets since she suspected that it would be cold underground, where no sunlight could reach. It was like one of those times that they had to move away because Percy screwed up something again as a kid.

Percy **just couldn’t stop** feeling bad.

 

 

It had been a month since Percy came to the Underworld to learn how to control his powers. Unexpectedly, his mother was allowed to revisit the living world multiple times so she could recharge herself with fresh air and sunlight whenever she went for groceries and food. Percy would decline whenever she told him to follow and smile at Paul at the exit of the Underworld.

Paul would always ask Sally how Percy was doing because the smile he received from his stepson was anything but a genuine display of satisfaction or happiness. And Sally would always answer with “Percy is doing the best he can.”

However, no one would actually be able to tell if Perseus Jackson was improving or not. He would from time to time wonder how Hades was planning to help him, since they hardly even ran into each other and all what the god had to say was “Don’t overexert yourself.”

Maybe that one simple advice held the key to his salvage. Maybe. He didn’t know how to tame the wild beast inside of him if he feared it. The more he succeeded in manipulating the Underworld’s rivers, the more scared he felt. And coming to one of the rivers everyday sometimes made it tempting for him to just dive in and save everyone from the burden that was him. A small, tiny part of him would then remind him of what his mom and his friends would feel.

That would stop him, because he didn’t want to be the one who caused their sufferings.

 

 

He never expected to be pursued by a group of zombies right after saying goodbye to his mom so that she could have a few days in the Upper world. He ended up inches close to the tunnel connected to Tartarus with its hot, sulfuric gas grazing his back. It took him seconds to realize that this tunnel had tried sucking him in once but such amount of time was enough for the damn thing to try again. Percy didn’t know how he had managed to stuck Riptide in the surface of the cliff quickly enough. The zombies ran away as soon the shithole started its abduction, only one got sucked in and grabbed Percy’s ankle just to be kicked away.

Laughter and mocks echoed against the walls of the pit below, loud enough for Percy to recognize as the voices of his ancient enemies. They must have been waiting for him to fall ever since the wars ended. Percy tried to reach up with his other hand but then Riptide slit down a few more inches, causing him to abandon his intention. The celestial bronze sword inclined towards the pit, no longer remained at its previous ninety degree because of his weight. Percy’s eyes burned either from the hot air flaring up or the forming tears of his frustration.

He **actually thought** that things were getting better.

“Somebody, please help.” He whispered weakly to himself, knowing that no one would be near enough to know about his life and death situation. The pit was rumbling with maniac laughter and the distant screaming of punished souls did not help him at all.

 ** _“Monsters have never left Tartarus.”_** A voice cooed into his ears. Percy felt his grip on Riptide loosened a bit. Slippery. Same as the malicious voice that spoke to him.

“I-I am a-” Percy choked on his own words.

“Percy!!” A hand was shoved towards him and Percy hoped it didn’t belong to Sally, his mom. She didn’t deserve to be near such a horrible place. Then Percy saw the skull ring and he almost let go of the sword.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I...I am so sorry.
> 
> Hey guys, the next chapter is going to get VERY ROCKY for you guys. But, I promise you, it is not the end. I hope you guys would stay tune to find out what will happen next. 
> 
> I am all about happy endings, because I have never had those in my life.


	13. Empty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No. It’s over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, Rick does.
> 
> Hi guys  
> As promised, this chapter is going to HURT YOU TERRIBLY. But, I think it is necessary to their relationship.

Previously

**_“Monsters have never left Tartarus.”_ ** _A voice cooed into his ears. Percy felt his grip on Riptide loosened a bit. Slippery. Same as the malicious voice that spoke to him._

_“I-I am a-” Percy choked on his own words._

_“Percy!!” A hand was shoved towards him and Percy hoped it didn’t belong to Sally, his mom. She didn’t deserve to be near such a horrible place. Then Percy saw the skull ring and he almost let go of the sword._

 

 

Nico was hovering on the edge, the shine of tears evident on his face. He was crying while trying to reach for Percy and a part inside Percy shook with pain. He had never wanted to see Nico cry, especially because of him. He was clueless of how Nico had known he was in danger or even down here in the Underworld, he just knew that Nico was here, trying to save him again.

“I got you.” Nico said, teardrops landing on Percy’s face. “Give me your hand!”

Nico’s hand was inches away from him so Percy could just grab it with his free hand. He hesitated.

“Let me fall.” He told Nico. “You’re not strong enough for both of us.”

“Have you heard what you’re saying?” Nico cried, his voice wrecked with agony. He was still in love with Percy for sure. “Please give me your hand!”

“Why would you want to save me so bad!?” Percy shouted, maybe he was crying, too. “After all that I’ve done, why would you want to put up with me?”

“Because I love you.” Nico sobbed. Percy’s mind went blank completely. Loving him had never ceased to be the reason for Nico to act. It had always been like that. All those years of loneliness and self-hate because of Nico’s love for him.

Percy let himself be saved after realization dawned on him hard and ruthlessly. He reached for Nico’s shaking hand and his boyfriend managed to pull him up and away from the pit. The tears on Percy’s face won’t stop falling down as Percy had his arm swung over Nico’s shoulder because Percy finally knew what he should do at the moment and it would hurt him terribly.

Nico wrapped his arms around Percy, feeling relief flooded inside of him. Now he knew for sure that he couldn’t stand losing Percy and the green-eyed hero’s existence j would never stopped being one of the anchors of his life. Percy responded to his hug with his arms tight around Nico as if this would be their last embrace.

“I want to-“ Percy sobbed, he had been doing so ever since they escaped from the sucking pit.

“I want to break up with you” Percy looked at Nico straight in the eyes. “We cannot…be together anymore.”

“Why?” Nico asked, happiness gone. He felt the pain of being stabbed at his left chest, shockingly familiar, which prevented him from saying anything but a word.

“It’s obvious. We cannot work out because,” Percy breathed in. Lies. Lies. Lies. “because I am not able to stop myself from hurting you.”

“Are you even listening to what you were saying?” Nico wailed, he couldn’t even see clearly because of the tears.

“I just want to stop hurting you!” Percy begged, he was begging to be abandoned and it hurt so bad.

“It doesn’t have to be li-like this.” Nico sobbed, wiping away his tears forcefully. “I can help you.”

Percy shook his head.

“Do you still love me?”

Percy’s mind was screaming with his real answer. Yes. He loved Nico more than anything. He only wanted the son of Hades to be happy. This was happening because he wanted Nico to be happy. Nico deserved the best, with or without him.

“No. It’s over.”

Percy turned and sprinted away from his brokenhearted ex-boyfriend. He knew exactly what those uttered words would do to Nico and couldn’t stand witnessing it. He ran and ran until his feet burned and gave out, making him collapse in front of Persephone’s garden.

 

Nico was left alone with a searing pain in his heart, causing him to slowly crouch down until he finally lied down on his back.

He couldn’t stop the pain inside of him from tearing apart his hopes and dreams for a future with Percy. Percy who had made such a huge impact on his life, made him suffer but also taught him so much about being a hero. Who admitted his mistakes and tried so hard to make up for them. He made Nico happy. For awhile.

 

“Child, what seems to be the problem?” Hades was sitting next to Nico, his cold arms gently but so scarcely embraced his son.

“I lost him.” Nico looked up at his father, his voice broken. “I lost him for good.”

“Maybe this is for the best.” Hades said and he shadow-travelled them back to the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOPE, NOPE, NOPE.
> 
> THIS IS NOT THE END.
> 
> I PROMISE YOU.
> 
> I AM ALL ABOUT HAPPY ENDINGS.


	14. The Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy found help but he didn't want to believe it would work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Again, I do not own any characters in this. They belong to Rick Riordan and Greek Mythology.
> 
> Guys, this chapter was rather difficult because I lost the draft of it. I am going to post the next chapter very soon. Thanks!

“Boy, wake up.” A voice, calm and uncaring, dragged Percy out of his unconsciousness.

“What do you want?” Percy asked, leaning against the tree next to him. He was drained out to the core. His heart thumped erratically behind his ribcage, yet Percy believed he wouldn't fight back if the figure in front of him decided to attack.

“Lord Hades commanded me to offer my help.” The immortal informed Percy, she had a glow that could tell her kind.

“How?” Percy asked. “I can’t even help myself because I fear my own powers. Can you make them disappear?”

“Follow me.”

Percy followed the goddess to her cave after having packed and left a note for his mom. He had a feeling that he would have to stay there for a long time if the immortal planned to train him. The cave didn't look like the goddess's permanent residence as it smelt annoying pungent with cold water dripping down the ceiling. Its lighting was shit, and Percy didn't know what he was expecting from her.

“I am the goddess of Memory.”

“Don’t you have a name or something?”Percy asked.

“Names are powerful and I cannot risk being captured by the god’s enemies. The past is one of the best teachers.” She smiled. “An enemy is more powerful when educated.”

She held his hands and for the first time ever, the goddess opened her eyes. They glow white like a car’s headlights so Percy shut his eyes to prevent the headache that usually tortured him whenever a source of light was directed at him.

“People look into the forgotten past then they are…awakened.” She chanted.

Percy gaped as Luke Castellan materialized in front of him, looking as if he had never turned against Camp. The scar on his face was redder and more unapproachable than how Percy remembered it, but this was probably because Luke thought of it this way in his memory.  His sandy blond hair and sad eyes that Percy had tried to hold on to whenever the thought of Luke betraying him disturbed Percy’s sleep didn’t change at all. Luke was the first to help him at Camp and also the first to let him down when he entered his half-blood life.

Percy was Nico’s Luke Castellan.

“Hello, Percy.” Luke greeted him with the saddest voice Percy had ever heard. He felt his eyes stung and only managed to croak out a few words.

“You’re alive?” Percy asked. It had been so long since he last saw Luke. He remembered clearly how Luke had sound holding his last breaths or how he had sound instructing Percy in combat.

“No, he’s not although he does have a physical body.” The goddess next to him interrupted. “He is made of Luke Castellan’s memory before he chose rebirth. I hope that he could help you figure out what to do.”

“Why?” Percy turned to the goddess. “Why him?”

“I learned from your memories and came to the conclusion that only he could help you now.”

“Sure, why the fuck not.” Percy couldn’t help but spat at the goddess. He knew he was being ungrateful but the anger he pent up mixed with his unrelenting pain of breaking up with Nico and just couldn’t wait to burst through him.

The goddess narrowed her eyes but she looked composed enough to explain to Percy that people wouldn’t be able to contact him the next few days and he had to focus on whatever Luke had to say in order to control his powers. Percy’s apology sounded half-hearted although he truly felt guilty for raising his voice at the goddess, but whatever, he hadn’t been able to understand himself for awhile. He couldn’t figure out how Luke was going to help him, too, because Luke’s powers were not in the natural forces category. It scared Percy that he no longer believed in his chances to be saved.

Luke eyed him warily after the goddess had disappeared, and Percy wanted to just lie down and die right on the spot. Luke could go fuck himself for all he cared.

“So, do you want to spare?” the blond finally asked.

“Sure, why the fuck not?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you think about this!

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to tell me what you want to know about their life together and I will consider writing it into a chapter!


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